Thousands flock to new North Bay casino

A day after its much ballyhooed grand opening, the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park continued bustling Wednesday, with thousands of gamblers getting their first — or in some cases, second — shot at the greater Bay Area's newest and biggest gambling hall.

The $800 million casino, built by the Federation Indians of Graton Rancheria, opened its doors Tuesday, allowing patrons to try their hands at the casino's 3,000 slot machines and 144 card tables.

"It was an incredible reception by the community," said casino spokeswoman Lori Nelson. "This has been the most incredible and exciting (casino) opening I've been involved with."

Graton was scheduled to open for business at 10 a.m. Tuesday, but with anxious gamblers accumulating at the casino's three entrances, management responded to the crowd's chant of "open, open, open" an hour early.

"It took a good 10 minutes for the public to come in from the lines that had formed," Nelson said.

From then on, the action didn't slow down until long after the sun went down.

"It was non-stop until 3, 4 a.m. last night," Nelson said.

While it is called a "resort," Nelson said the facility's future hotel is still in the planning stage.

Though not nearly as busy as it was on Tuesday, Graton didn't have a quiet corner Wednesday afternoon, as retirees, college students and local workers taking a break from the office circulated throughout the 340,000-square-foot complex.

Steve and Pamela Baskett, a retired Cotati couple who frequents casinos throughout Northern California and Nevada, said they had been waiting for Graton to open "for a long time."

"It's pretty amazing. It's gorgeous," Steve Baskett said. "But I don't get dazzled by hoopla. I get dazzled by jackpots."

Steve Baskett said they had been paroling the gaming aisles in search of spots where people were winning, but had yet to find the right spot to settle in and make some money.

The Basketts said they showed up around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, hoping to be among the casino's first-ever customers. But with the crowds so large, they headed to River Rock Casino in Geyserville.

Management did not have an exact count, or even an estimate, of how many customers entered on opening day, Nelson said, though the parking lot of 5,700 spaces remained nearly full throughout the day and evening, and the rewards counter issued 15,000 new player rewards cards.

In addition to those who drove themselves, Nelson said about 75 tour buses arrived Tuesday, unannounced, to drop off casino-goers. The busloads continued coming on Wednesday, including a bus that brought Bob Liu and about 25 other people from San Jose.

"We planned to come (Tuesday)," Liu said, "but then people told us there were long lines. So we went to Colusa instead," referring to the Colusa Casino, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. "A lot of people like us are retired, have nothing to do. Every day is Sunday."

The casino opens with a mixed bag of public reception. While gamblers are pleased to have a new haunt, some locals have gone to the courts with their objections to the casino, disputing the Graton tribe's right to build a casino on land it recently bought and that opponents say remains under state sovereignty.

Some have expressed concerns that the casino will negatively affect local businesses and will cause an uptick in traffic, as Bay Area residents flock to the slots and card tables in Rohnert Park. While Sonoma County was affected Tuesday by heavier traffic, so far the impact in Marin has been minimal, said CHP spokesman Andrew Barclay.

"I got scattered reports (Tuesday) that there was stopped traffic in the (Novato) Narrows around 1:30 p.m.," Barclay said. "But during my commute home I didn't notice any traffic being out of the ordinary. ... It's possible we'll get a little more, maybe this weekend. We will monitor it and plan accordingly."